ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 211058
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| Date: | Saturday 13 May 1933 |
| Time: | morning |
| Type: | BAC Drone III |
| Owner/operator: | Maidstone Flying School |
| Registration: | BGA.194? |
| MSN: | 128? |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | West Malling Aerodrome, West Malling, Maidstone, Kent -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Demo/Airshow/Display |
| Departure airport: | West Malling, Maidstone, Kent |
| West Malling, Maidstone, Kent | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A B.A.C.3 "Drone" engined glider, in the hands of the Managing Director of the constructing company, came to grief at West Malling on the morning of Saturday, May 13th 1933. The pilot was 32-year old Mr. Thomas Harold Lowe (also known as C.H. Lowe-Wylde), regarded as one of the pioneers of the gliding movement in the UK - although vastly experienced in gliders he lacked much 'powered' experience. The Drone was the fourth of its type to be built, and had met with a mishap at West Malling in the first week of May, on its third or fourth flight there. It was returned to the works at Hanworth for repairs, then transported by road back to West Malling for reassembly - Thomas Lowe actually carried out most of this work himself.
The pilot embarked on the first flight that day at about 1745 hours and remained in the air for only a few minutes. On landing, he expressed himself as being quite satisfied with the machine except in regards to the rig of the control column which was a little too far forward, and the Air Speed Indicator which had not been connected up. As soon as he had attended to these two matters, the pilot took off again. The aircraft, after completing a few turns near the ground, climbed steadily to a height of about 800 feet and then started to descend in a straight and somewhat steep dive towards the centre of the aerodrome. This was a "Power-dive", that is a dive with the engine running on open throttle. The dive, though steep, was not very prolonged, the engine being throttled down and the aircraft apparently starting to level-up after a loss of height amounting to little more than 300 feet, but the manoeuvre developed into a wide turn to the left during which the machine gradually assumed a vertically banked attitude and started to side-slip. At this juncture the engine was opened up again. In a steep side-slipping attitude, and thus losing height very rapidly, the aircraft continued to descend until it struck the ground, the pilot to all appearances making no attempt to correct the side-slip. The engine appeared to be 'On" up to the last moment.
According to the statements of those closely associated with Lowe, he had recently got into a low state of health as a result of overwork combined with lack of sleep and regular meals..
According to some sources (see link #2) "It was said he was airsick and lost control". According to a contemporary newspaper report on the inquest into the pilot's death (Nottingham Evening Post - Tuesday 16 May 1933):
"GLIDER EXPERT'S DEATH
STEEP DIVE AND A CRASH
ENTHUSIAST WHO ALLOWED HIMSELF LITTLE REST.
The inquest on Mr C.H. Lowe-Wilde, the well known British air-gliding expert, who was killed on Saturday, when an experimental machine of his own design crashed at Maidstone airport, was opened at West Malling (Kent) to-day.
Mr A.H. Neve, county coroner, sat with a jury, and Major J.C. Cooper, Accidents Inspector of The Air Ministry was present. Mr Neve said that Mr Lowe-Wilde's death was a loss to the science of aeronautics, and universal regret would be felt.
It was stated that Mr Lowe-Wilde made a successful flight and landing, and then after making minor adjustments to the elevator, went up on the fatal flight. He got into a steep dive, and slipped while turning, crashing to the ground with the engine running.
Mr Kingsley B. Green, a director of British Aircraft Ltd, said that when Mr Lowe-Wilde took off on the second flight he circled and climbed steadily to about 800 to 1000 feet quite normally. He then went into a dive with the engine on, and it became so steep that it was quite out of keeping with his normal flying... "I thought the dive was far too steep and I think the turn was involuntary" said Mr Green "The machine then slipped and hit the ground with the engine running"..
"A very significant thing is that Lowe had had minor smashes before and every time he had said 'It's a jolly good thing I shut off' ".
Thomas Harold Lowe said that his brother, who was 32, was a pioneer of gliding, and had built a glider when he was only 14. The dead man used the name Lowe-Wilde in relation to his gliding activities. He was managing director of British Aircraft Ltd, which was particularly interested in the construction of light aeroplanes.
"Something must have happened"
Miss Winifred Joyce Walters of Borstal Street, Borstal, near Rochester, an employee of the firm, said when she travelled down from Feltham with Mr Lowe-Wilde on Saturday she did not think he was physically fit. He had been working very hard lately and had not eaten properly. "I think something must have happened to him. I am certain in my own mind that if he had been normal he would have shut off and flattened out gradually".
Roger Francis Bulstrode, a pilot employed at Maidstone air port, said that the machine hit the ground with the engine at full throttle. The speed was definitely too fast.
The Coroner said that there was no doubt that Mr Lowe-Wilde was an enthusiast at his job. He was overworking, and not letting himself have sufficient rest or food, and that may have had a direct or indirect bearing on the accident, said Mr Neve.
The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death" and added a rider that there was no blame attached to anyone connected with the airport."
Note that the identity of the actual aircraft involved has not been 100% confirmed. Circumstantial evidence (see link #7) would indicate that it was B.A.C.VII c/n 128, BGA 186 then BGA 194. Crashed 13.5.33, West Malling, Kent, Lowe-Wylde killed."
Sources:
1. Nottingham Evening Post - Tuesday 16 May 1933
2. Dover Express - Friday 19 May 1933
3. Sailplane & Glider, 26 May 1933
4. The Straits Times, 30 May 1933, Page 7 at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19330530-1.2.36
5. http://www.rcawsey.co.uk/Acc1934.htm
6. https://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?84086-F-Harold-Lowe
7. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=2546.15
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-May-2018 13:08 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 02-Apr-2020 23:34 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Registration, Cn, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
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